Music: 20 + 2 in 2020
Source of Sustenance and Passion
“Without music life would be a mistake.” — Freddy Nietzsche
Selecting Favorite Songs
I was a teen in the mid 1960s and my musical tastes were shaped by the radio. As allowance money arrived it was all saved up to buy 45rpms—House of Oldies on Bleecker Street—$5.10 for 10 singles. I still have over 600.
The idea of the Top 10 was something I adopted with my best friend, Alex II, at the time—and at the end of the week, after endless listening to our recent purchases, we presented each other with a list of our favorite songs. Neither one of us had much use for what Billboard had to say.
(My friend was dismayed that amidst the Animals & Kinks & Four Tops lists, which were our standard fare in 1966, Frank Sinatra’s “Strangers In The Night” topped my charts—for 8 weeks straight! I loved the song — but admittedly also enjoyed watching my friend cringe at my uncoolness.
Sinatra’s follow up “A Summer Wind” I liked even more and he has remained my favorite singer over the decades.)
Music During COVID-19
Music has been pretty constant in our home through these long pandemic months.
There were days that music seemed the only thing that could…
